“Forgotten Hollywood” – Divine Miss Channing…
Manny P. here…
“`Carol Channing was the three-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy star who delighted audiences in over 5,000 stage performances as Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly! She was a treasured icon of American theater, and an ambassador for Broadway. CAROL CHANNING –>
“`While studying drama and dance at Bennington College in Vermont, Carol was hired in a New York revue. She worked as an understudy, bit player, and in nightclubs. And she took jobs as a model, a receptionist, and even, a sales clerk during lean times. In Hollywood, she auditioned for Marge Champion, wife and dance partner of Gower Champion. She organized a revue and Channing was cast in Lend an Ear.
“`As an innocent gold digger in the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, her stardom was assured. The show’s hit song, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, became her signature number.
“`Hello Dolly! was an unparalleled hit, and this 1964 production earned ten Tony Awards. Always remembered as a conniving matchmaker, Channing won a Tony as Best Actress in a Musical. She later received a special Tony in 1968, and a Tony for Lifetime Achievement in 1995. For five decades, the actress returned to the part. And Channing influenced scores of stage actors, such as Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters and Pearl Bailey.
“`Channing’s big personality was deemed a bit much for the screen, and she made just a couple of movies, notably The First Traveling Saleslady with Ginger Rogers, and Thoroughly Modern Millie starring Julie Andrews; the latter film earned Carol a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. She was a popular guest on television game shows throughout the 1970s. Carol often appeared in nightclubs, for a time on stage with George Burns in Las Vegas.
“`In 1966, Channing won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago Theatre. She was inducted into American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.
“`Larger-than-life, Carol Channing was ninety-seven.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2019 at 3:46 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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